Daydreams
by intrajanelle
Summary: Gene never died. Naru never went to Japan. So Mai and Naru never met, right? Wrong.
1. D

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A/N: Hey! This is just a project I've been working on. I was thinking...Why was Gene in Japan when he died? and the I came up with this!! So read. Enjoy. Oh and Review too please :)

_Disclaimer: Uhhh......I guess I don't own Ghost Hunt._

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Chapter 1: D is for Death?

It was no use, the car was dead.

Gene stepped on the gas one more time but his efforts were only met with a sputter, a groan from his failed engine and a sudden but impartial jerk from the steering wheel.

He got out of the car.

With a fleeting glance he took in the deserted scenery, devoid of tall apartment buildings and smog filled air. He turned his flashlight on and the white light bounced off of the road and the lake beyond. Peaceful, tranquil, nothing like the city. the air especially was cool and crisp.

He liked the country, he especially liked the Japanese countryside. Maybe he would come back.

He pressed the button on his keychain and the trunk popped open revealing dozens of different tools he had no idea how to use. Rolling up his sleeves he sighed. He'd never be able to fix an engine in the middle of the night. Still he took out the tools and set them on the road as quietly as he could, it was so quiet, he feared any sort of noise would be a taboo. One more time he desperately scanned the road for any sign of life, a house, a phone a car. But there was nothing and he resigned to repairing the engine.

He brought the tools to the front of the car, wondering what his brother would think of him trying to fix an engine at midnight on a desolate road.

'He probably knows.' Gene thought wryly. 'And he'll wear himself out using his abilities like that.'

So caught up with musing over his brothers stupidity and protectiveness, Gene didn't notice the screwdriver that had rolled in the street until he needed it. With a half-hearted groan he pushed himself up and walked over to grab it, when suddenly he was blinded with light.

'This is one of those moments,' Gene thought, 'When my life's supposed to flash in front of my eyes.'

But he didn't see anything but the Ford F-150 that was hurtling towards him at a breathless speed. He closed his eyes and then felt himself being jerked aside. He hadn't done anything, he knew for certain that he hadn't even tried to move, but somehow he was now lying on the side of the road unscratched.

Several seconds later, with screwdriver in hand, he picked himself up and heard the screeching of car tires on the silent street.

The truck doors practically fell open as a worried couple stepped out nervously.

"Hey kid are you alright?" a man's voice shouted over to him.

"Honey, are you hurt, do you need help?" another voice inquired.

He looked over at the couple with a sheepish grin on his face he stood and brushed himself off.

Twisting his hands together uncomfortably he then managed to ask, "Would you mind giving me a ride?"

* * *

Oliver Davis sat in his office seething in uncertain anger.

He was holding his brothers watch and had, therefore, seen the entire occurrence on the highway.

'He could have been killed,' Oliver thought, placing the watch down, 'He could be dead.'

With a sigh Oliver picked up a piece of white-lined paper and decided to relieve himself by doing what Madoka called a 'stress-exercise.'

He wrote a list.

1. Look both ways before you cross the street.

2. Don't take rides from strangers.

3. Remember to put enough gas in the car before you drive outside of civilization.

'Oh yeah,' Oliver thought with a smirk.

4. Don't take your brothers empathy link for granted.

* * *

Three weeks later.

It was lunch time when Mai Taniyama ran to the window and used her full bodily weight to pry it open. The school felt more like a sauna than a learning institution at the moment and she leaned heavily against the window frame, staring at the city below.

She had work after class today, but six hours bell-hopping at the Furinkan Hotel didn't _sound _exhilarating, and it usually wasn't.

Sure she had ghost stories before work and her friends all loved her stories best ( they claimed that hers were real and spooky and she did always try her hardest for them). But it didn't help the fact that she still felt empty, as if she was meant to do something, but she had no idea what.

* * *

Gene crept down the corridors of Shikoku High School with all the stealth of a bowling ball in a china shop. So far he'd knocked over a cabinet, touched wet paint and currently he was tripping up the stairs while trying to see around the corner with a compact mirror.

He could practically hear Noll laughing at him.

Oh, wait, he _could _hear Noll laughing at him.

'Shut up Noll.' Gene snapped.

'I don't know why you're a Ghost Hunter you should be ninja, seriously, your very undetectable.' Noll teased him, 'And where'd you get that compact? Do you use makeup now?'

Gene glared at the wall in place of his brother. 'I got it (stole it) from Madoka, and go away I'm on a mission here.'

For a minute there was silence and Gene walked down the hall relieved. Until he was standing outside of classroom 2-A and Noll decided to pitch in again.

'So who are you looking for now?' he asked dismissively, back to his cold derisive self.

With a sigh Gene pulled the door open and peered in to the darkness that was classroom 2-A.

'Well, we're gathering potential psychic's for our latest case, Madoka told me to find this girl named-'

"Mai! That voice is so creepy, stop freaking us out!" a voice whined from inside the classroom.

Someone giggled and Gene rolled his eyes.

"One, two, three." the girls said in unison and in that pause Gene took the opportunity to flick the lights on.

Three voices shrieked and then Gene saw them, crouched in between the desks and holding little flashlights. Three of them, each in Shikoku's uniform, held on to each other while they shrieked. Slowly their hysteria wore down and they turned to find him standing in the doorway.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Gene said with a smile.

Two of the girls lit up and rushed over to greet him.

"Not at all!" they promised, while the other hung back. "What's your name? What year are you in?"

'Since when are you so popular?' Noll said amusedly.

'Shuddup.' Gene thought through his smile.

"I'm Gene Davis, I'm 17 this year, and -uh- I was hoping one of you might be Mai Taniyama?" disappointed the girls turned away and gestured towards the other girl, who was now packing her things.

"She's Mai. Mai he's for you." the girl said ruefully.

A little surprised the girl turned to look at him, her eyes seeming to bore in to his.

"What's the matter?" she said casually, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

He watched slowly, her hair bounced as she moved, her eyes studied him curiously and her lithe frame slid closer to his.

"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, can I talk to y-you alone for a moment?" he stuttered.

She smiled, not hearing his slip-up, her eyes glowing brightly. "Sure."

As he led her from the classroom he heard Noll's voice echo in his head.

'She's...something else.'

* * *

"What's this about?" Mai asked nervously, once she and the boy were alone.

She had to get to work soon and she wasn't so sure that this boy would let her do that.

"I'm just here to ask a few questions. About the old school house." Gene put in, tapping his foot in an anxious rhythm on the linoleum floor.

She sighed, waiting for the questions to begin. Of course she'd had to answer tons of questions. Reporters, police, the press, everyone wanted to know what had happened.

But it hadn't been Mai's fault.

"How exactly did it collapse?" Gene asked, his voice not conveying anything but pure interest.

"Why do you want to know? Why should I tell you?" Mai challenged. Truthfully she didn't mind giving him a few details but a little information on his part would be nice. The last thing she wanted was her name in a book or TV movie or who-knows-what, she did not need more publicity.

She didn't know what to expect from this boy, this nosy, albeit very handsome boy, who seemed interested in her personal life.

But his answer...she certainly didn't expect _that_.

"My name is Gene Davis." he said, extending his hand, "I'm traveling all across the world to put together the perfect psychic research team for my families company, Shibuya Psychic Research."

Mai hand fell slack by her side and Gene lowered his uncomfortably, her eyes were as wide as he was sure they'd get.

'Way to be subtle.' his brother's voice echoed inside his head.

Gene sighed, knowing that he had just about blew it with this one. After that last statement he was almost positive that she wouldn't listen to another word he had to say. She had the ever-popular 'seriously?' face and her shock hadn't worn off just yet.

"...sorry." Gene said, backing away. "I guess I'll be going."

As he turned something inside of him screamed for him to stop, he didn't want to leave her there, in shock, it didn't seem right. But before he could stop himself from leaving something else did. A small hand encircled his wrist, stopping him in his tracks.

"Wait." Mai said. "Sorry. I'll tell you anything you want to know, just follow me."

* * *

"So it just...collapsed?"

Mai nodded. She had led Gene to where she worked and made him wait while she changed in to her uniform. Currently he was playing the part of a tourist and she was dutifully answering his questions all the while holding a secret interview.

"Yep, the girl who was causing all of the ruckus ( you know the 'spirits' and junk) ran in to the building one day and I was passing by. I got this...really bad feeling and I followed her inside. It must have been poorly built or something because by the time I found her the building had collapsed." Mai shuddered in remembrance, "It took them hours to dig us out but we were fine. The other girl....she was shaken up. She seemed upset that the building was gone but I was just glad to be alive."

Gene narrowed his eyes on this girl, she was definitely interesting. Friendly, cute, funny smart _and _possibly a great asset to SPR. How did Madoka find these people?

"This feeling, can you explain it?" Gene asked her particularly.

But Mai only shook her head. "I've tried before, with the press, but it just isn't explainable. I couldn't believe what had happened, you know? It was probably just intuition."

She shrugged it off but he had one more question, before she could turn away to help the next customer he grabbed her arm.

"Ms. Taniyama-"

"Mai." she corrected.

"Right, Mai." he blushed, letting go of her arm, "What about the bright light. The one everyone in the area saw the moment the school building collapsed. You didn't see it?"

Mai looked defeated. She faced him again, completely resigned. "That's what _everybody _asks me, I swear if I had seen it I would have told someone. Especially if I had seen where it had come from. You know...the other girl saw it, I didn't. I must not have been paying attention."

Gene crossed his arms and smiled, "Well thanks anyway Mai. It was great meeting you."

But on the inside he was thinking, 'What if she didn't see that light because it came from her?'

Noll replied, 'That's a possibility.'

* * *

The next morning Mai woke up late and ate in a hurry. She pulled her uniform on, grabbed her book bag and ran from her apartment with a bagel in her teeth. She was just stumbling past her mailbox when Gene caught her eye. He was standing in front of her building looking rather amused at her disheveled appearance. Raising his hand he waved in approbation. She groaned and shuffled her way over to him, doing up her last shirt button as she reached him.

"Why are you here? What do you want this early in the morning? I told you everything yesterday!" Mai complained.

Gene only smiled, "I have good news!"

Mai smacked her forehead and dropped her book bag to her feet. "Okay, let's hear it."

"Well, two things actually. First I told my parents about you and they've decided to add you to our team! You're now part of Shibuya Psychic Research as an Investigator in-training! Isn't that great? You'll get to travel and meet tons of people and make money and-" Mai shushed him.

The look on her face was less than happy. In fact she looked rather elated/shocked/unbelieving but Gene would have to take that as a good sign.

"We'll need to fly you out tonight, to SPR headquarters in England. You'll meet your teammates and my parents and start your first case-" Mai shushed him again.

"Seriously?" she asked. "What's the other good news?"

"Oh, its Saturday." Gene dead-panned, "No school."

* * *

"You're scared of planes?" Gene asked yet again.

Mai nodded, biting her lip. She was clutching the big, comfy first class seat as if it were her last life line to the natural world. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"_All passengers please buckle your seat belts the plane is about to take flight-"_ but she didn't hear the rest.

She clicked her seat belt and curled up in to the leather as if to shrivel up and die.

"Mai." Gene said from beside her, "The planes lifting up, are you sure you're alright-"

"No." Mai snapped, "I'm not alright. I'm being kidnapped by a crazy person. I'm _not _psychic! I had a _feeling_. Not _all _feelings are psychic reactions! Why am I here! Get me off, get me off, get me off, get me _off_." she chanted.

Gene sighed and leaned against the headrest as the plane lifted in to the air.

'She's an idiot.' Noll commented. '_She's _supposed to be a latent psychic?'

Gene groaned. This was going to be a longer flight than expected.

* * *

REVIEW PLEASE!!! TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!!! BUT YOU WERE GOING TO DO THAT ALREADY WEREN'T YOU?


	2. A

_A/N: Here it is!! I was so happy about how many reviews there were that I posted WAAAAAAY earlier than I was going to. So You should learn from that and review more often ;). Anyway, I have two OC's that are introduced in this chapter. One is English and the other Japanese, you'll be able to tell which is wich. But just so you don't get confused, they're my characters, I created them, they are not in any part of the anime/manga. OK? _

_Alright so I'm bringing in other characters in this chapter. Mai gets funnier here I hope. Gene gets sweeter. Naru gets...more like Naru. Enjoy._

_**Disclaimer**: I own- (oh wait, I don't have the money to be sued right now) I DON'T own Ghost Hunt. _

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_Chapter 2: A is for Acquaintances_

Mai blinked and then her jaw dropped open. She wasn't dreaming or dead or insane.

She really was in England, and she really was in the presence of nearly thirteen potential psychics and Gene who was babbling on in her ear about how exciting the first case is and how great she would do.

"Gene, shut up." she dead-panned.

Sure, 24 hours ago when a hot English guy had offered to bring her to his parents head-quarters and give her ridiculous amounts of money to exorcise ghosts she'd barely batted an eye. Now...she wasn't so sure.

Gene had led her through London to his parents office building (which was _huge _FYI) and sat her down in a waiting room with others, like herself, who were going to be tested for abilities. With this test SPR would select seven new Investigators to form a new team to handle their most dangerous and exotic cases.

Like a super-ghost hunting squad.

Apparently Gene had spent the last year recruiting for this very purpose.

'Gene, you're an idiot.' Naru thought persuasively.

Gene only laughed, 'Seriously? Why are you-'

'Because, an entire year and the best psychic researchers you could gather are...these people?'

Gene looked around the room.

'They aren't _that_... Oh wait, never mind. We'll just have to see how this works out.' Gene agreed.

* * *

"Hi sweetie? What are you doing here?" a tall and slightly handsome man asked her.

Mai cringed away from him, partly because he looked like a washed out hippie and partly because a very angry-looking Miko was closing in on him fast.

"Takigawa!" the red-haired woman screeched. "Give me back my nail file!"

The man glanced at her belatedly. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yes you do!" she yelled, practically choking him before Gene intervened.

"Uh-okay guys, seriously we're all friends here. Calm down. Now, Houshou, did you take Miss Ayako's nail file?" Gene questioned him, expertly avoiding conflict.

Takigawa shrugged. "The old lady started it."

And by that point there was nothing Gene could do to help the situation. Ayako strangled Takigawa, Gene scrambled out of their way, Mai rolled up in her chair, while the other psychics watched in bemusement.

Several minutes later Ayako stood over Takigawa's prone figure, a nail file, triumphantly, in hand. Gene sighed and sat down beside Mai again, but before she could ask him something the door to the waiting room burst open revealing five figures.

An older couple. A tall and dark-looking man. A bubbly woman. But more prominently...Gene, but not Gene.

"That's my twin brother. Oliver Davis." Gene whispered in her ear.

Mai heard him, but for some reason she wasn't listening. Not really listening anyway.

Oliver...Davis.

_Oliver Davis._

Mai's jaw fell open.

She'd been rescued from a collapsed building. Plagued by reporters. Flown halfway across the world but _nothing _could be compared to seeing Oliver Davis for the first time.

Especially since she was almost positive that she knew him from somewhere....she just couldn't remember where.

* * *

"Welcome, all of you, to SPR headquarters!" Luella Davis announced, she spoke in Japanese because all of the occupants understood that language if not English. "My husband Martin and I are the proud founders of Shibuya Psychic Research and we've been looking forward to this project for awhile."

Curiously she scanned the room for any further reactions. The group had settled in to the seats along the far wall. Nine of them, if you counted Gene. Luella smiled, Gene was seated rather closely to a pretty young girl.

"Mai Taniyama." Madoka whispered in to Luella's ear, as if she had read her mind.

'Mai _Taniyama_...' Luella thought. 'That sounds familiar.'

She brushed it off and continued.

"For the next two weeks all eight of you will participate in solving a paranormal case for SPR. You will be assisted by my sons, Oliver and Eugene, as well as two of our own researchers, Lin Koujo and Madoka Mori." Luella conveyed, "You're performance in the case will provide SPR with enough information to keep or drop you from our new research team. If you pass, you pass, if you fail, you fail. There will be no retakes or second chances. Also it will be fair to warn all of you, this isn't a game. Paranormal research is serious and dangerous, any injuries are not SPR's responsibility until you are a member. On that note, good luck!"

As Martin and Luella turned to leave they shut the doors on the waiting room and its occupants.

"Let the trials begin." Martin chuckled as he squeezed Luella's arm.

"Yes." Luella said, "But first, does the name Taniyama sound familiar to you?"

* * *

Mai stared after Luella Davis with envy. If only she could leave this chaos behind...

Instead she was faced with the bubbly woman, so named 'Madoka Mori', trying to control the havoc that was Takigawa and Ayako.

"Stop! This instant!" Madoka shrieked.

"He started it." Ayako huffed as Takigawa lunged forward attempting to retrieve his shoe from her hand.

"Give it back you filthy old hag!"

"Stop." one word and there was silence. One word so devastatingly cold that Mai shivered, especially when its owner threw her a casual glance.

"Thank you Oliver, you can take it from here." Madoka resigned, seating herself beside the man named Lin in an attempt to relax.

"If you wish to create chaos I will ask you to leave, otherwise we're conducting business." Oliver said icily. "Can each of you introduce yourselves civilly and explain what it is you can do?"

Ayako nodded, slightly baffled by this boy's commandeering aura. "I am Ayako Matsuzaki, a Miko, I work mostly with tree spirits."

Oliver nodded.

'Oliver.' Mai thought, 'He doesn't _look _like an Oliver.'

"Houshou Takigawa, a Monk and musician." Takigawa smirked.

'Oliver...Oliver.' Mai thought crisply. 'Nope, he still doesn't seem like an Oliver.'

A slightly baffled young man stepped forward, ruffled blonde hair sitting atop his head. "I'm John Brown, a priest, its nice to meet you all." he smiled.

"Masako Hara." one young girl replied.

Oliver raised his eyebrows at her but she didn't add to her name. He gave her one more slightly unnerving look.

"You should know me, I'm quite famous." she said eventually. Mai felt her insides bristling.

'What a diva!' she thought, and then returned to the subject at hand, 'No, nope, he's still _not _an Oliver.'

"Yasuhara Osamu!" a bright young man said, stepping forward, "I'm a ghost hunter, I solved a case at my school that got...out of hand. But I'm sure SPR could have handled it better, this place is amazing I-"

Oliver shushed him.

Mai groaned, 'Seriously! What can I call him if not Oliver Davis?'

"Eric Jilson, a latent psychic at your service." Mai looked up and blushed, he'd winked at her.

Just one more girl sat in a corner at the end of the room. One more girl and Mai, herself, had yet to be introduced.

"H-Hanako Haru," the girl spoke up, her young-porcelain face meeting Oliver's, "A m-medium."

Gene elbowed Mai who cursed, ready to retaliate. Instead she found a dozen eyes all boring in to her face. She blushed as Oliver gave her a spectacularly frightening glare.

"Mai Taniyama," she said simply. She wasn't a psychic, she was barely a teenager. She hadn't even blossomed yet!

Naru raised his eyebrows at her but she stared on back, equally persistent.

"She's a latent psychic." Gene spoke up for her. She glared at him, traitor.

"I see, plain and stupid, how boring." Oliver sneered, "Completely out of my league."

Mai's eyes widened. Instead of appearing angry, like Oliver had planned, she appeared relieved.

She practically jumped from her chair a hand pointed straight at Oliver's face. Triumphant she exclaimed, "That's it! From now on you're Naru for Narcissist!"

Oliver/Naru blinked, and there was a long pause where no one said anything at all. Unable to respond.

Then they promptly fell in to fits of laughter.

'Well how do you like _that _Naru.' Gene thought sardonically.

'Shut up.'

* * *

Eric Jilson was tall, toned and unnervingly handsome. Short brown hair, bluish green eyes and a finely chiseled chin. He seemed perfect, god-like. Nothing like Naru, but close.

So Mai couldn't understand why he was talking, let alone, hitting on her.

"We're both latent psychics huh? Well, can you see me in your future?" Eric smiled, practically shoving his perfectly straight white teeth in her face.

Disgusted Mai crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently.

"No, I'm not psychic, now move please." she bit out politely.

"In denial I see." Eric said, patting after her like a dog.

"No, I'm not psychic, its all a mistake." Mai explained.

Once again Eric shoved his face too close to hers, "Really?"

But this time Takigawa pulled him away by the scruff of the neck.

"Sorry Jilson," he said without an ounce of sympathy. "Hey Mai, why don't you come join the rest of us?"

Mai looked at him and then smiled, "Sure, absolutely."

Without a single hesitation she brushed past Eric and joined the small group by the back corner namely, Takigawa, Ayako, John and Masako.

The four already appeared to be on good terms, at least Takigawa and Ayako weren't at each other's throats at the moment.

"Hello Ms. Taniyama." the priest so-named John greeted her.

"Hi John, its nice to meet you. Oh, and call me Mai, please." she smiled, shaking his hand formally.

"You're the girl Gene brought in personally." Ayako bit out rudely. "What is you can do exactly?"

"P-Personally?" Mai stuttered, ignoring Ayako's question, "Didn't he bring you guys here too?"

Ayako shook her head and pointed a finger at her chest, "No, he traveled around, saw each of us at work, but he talked and brought you here personally. You must be pretty special."

Mai didn't miss the Miko's wry smile as she said this. "Are you....jealous?"

Suddenly Ayako's skin matched her hair, she blushed so fiercely that Mai was certain she was right. The older woman had a crush on the Davis twins most likely. Honestly Mai couldn't blame her, they were handsome...

"Why you little-" Ayako retaliated, but Takigawa pulled Mai in to his chest. He hugged her so tightly that she wasn't sure she could breathe.

"Oh, Mai is the mean old lady scaring you! Don't worry big brother Takigawa is here!" he announced, practically squeezing the life out of her.

"Big brother?" Mai managed to squeak as Takigawa continued to choke her.

Her vision went blurry and the ringing in her ears heightened. She didn't think that Takigawa understood his own strength let alone how fragile she was.

"Let her go."

Mai saw the floor rushing up to meet her, but before it could strong arms lifted her up with as much gentility as a cloud.

"Naru?" she asked, pulling away from his grasp. "What's the matter?"

The boy narrowed his eyes at her, suspiciously wondering what gave her the right to be so informal with him.

She smiled at him innocently "Sorry, this is the first time we've really talked huh? I'm Mai."

He looked down at her hand that she'd held out to him.

Without shaking it he addressed the rest of the group. "We will be leaving SPR in an hour so pack your things and be prepared for our case."

He didn't need to look at Mai to see the shocked expression on her face. He had, of course, just completely ignored her.

"Sorry about that." Takigawa whispered playfully in to her ear, Mai only smiled in return so that he'd know it was alright.

"So Naru where is our first case? A haunted mansion, an exotic resort, an old school house...?" Takigawa led off.

Naru didn't bother answering, instead he began to walk away and was saved the trouble of explaining by Gene who took that moment to jump in.

"Actually its a hotel called Adventure Suites, its not too far from here." he supplied.

"Adventure Suites." Ayako scorned, "It hardly sounds haunted."

To that Gene could only smile. "Oh it is, and its quite old, it just has a specialty that's, shall we say...different?"

* * *

Mai looked from Gene to Naru to Takigawa. Only one of whom seemed especially surprised at the moment. In fact Gene and Naru seemed amused if anything.

They were outside of Adventure Suites and...Mai couldn't even begin to explain her confusion.

It didn't _look _like a hotel. It looked like ten different buildings that were uncomfortably scrunched together. Each building had a sign hung out front.

The ones Mai could see read Firehouse, Blacksmith, Schoolhouse...etc.

And each building _looked _like its former name.

"This is...." Ayako couldn't finish, she dropped her suitcase on the ground, "Seriously?"

Yasuhara walked up behind Mai, leaning on her shoulder comfortably like they were old friends.

"Wow, an RPG hotel. This should be fun." he said with a smile.

* * *

_Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! **I** pressed the green button and its so much **fun**! You should to! And **review **while you're at it :)_

_-Ciao_


	3. Y

_**A/N**: So here it is! You all wanted to know what an RPG hotel was and I hope I did a good job explaining. I actually have a confession to make. Adventure Suites is a real place! It was the inspiration for Daydreams although I've never actually been inside. Its in North Conway, New Hampshire, United States. You can **Google **it!! Just put in **Adventure Suites** and you can see what it looks like. In my defense and just so you're not confused, everything I say about Adventure Suites I am making up, I've never been inside I only drive by it on my way to Conway. there are even more than ten rooms, cuz there's only ten in my story. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt but I do own a copy of _'Up'_ which is the cutest movie ever!! :) I also do not Adventure Suites but I'm only saying it once :P_

___Okay I'm done. Read on._

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_Chapter 3: Y is for Y am I making tea?_

"This is base." Naru explained to Mai, after Lin and herself had carried all of the equipment in to the hotel Managers office.

"Base?" Mai questioned. She was still wondering why a dozen computer screens and cameras were necessary, especially since she was out of breath from carrying them inside as fast as she could.

"Yes, I'll explain it to you since you seem to have a hard time understanding the concept. This is where we'll all gather for meetings, where we'll keep the computers and other supplies and where Lin and I will be spending the most time in during the case." Naru drawled. "Now since you can't seem to do anything correctly I suppose I'll have to come with you and show you how to set up the cameras and microphones."

Mai's hands were balled in to fists. She took two deep breaths that didn't calm her and then crossed her arms.

"Why am I the only one required to do all of this stuff! What am I your servant?" she shrieked, unable to hold in her anger any longer.

"No," Naru said simply, picking up a camera and a microphone from the desk, "Rather, you're my assistant for this case since you seem pretty useless and I'll be needing someone to do menial labor."

You can imagine, at this point, Mai is ready to explode.

"Ah, Mai, there you are!" an all-too-friendly voice says in her ear.

She tenses, turning around to meet Eric's eyes.

"I was looking for you, maybe we could have a psychic connection together." he said, moving his hands to point to his head.

"I'm afraid not." Naru said icily, he grabbed Mai's arm and led her away from the base. "I'll be needing her for more significant tasks."

Mai groaned. Why her?

* * *

Mai was wandering the hotel with a walkie talkie strapped to her belt and Takigawa in tow.

"So, what exactly is making this place...haunted?" Mai asked him. She had missed the owners initial report because she'd been setting up cameras with Naru.

Upon exploring Adventure Suites she'd discovered that there were ten rooms in all for guests and even though they all appeared to be different buildings from the outside they were actually connected by a long hallway on the inside.

Each room was decorated according to name. Blacksmith, Schoolhouse, firehouse, jungle room, etcetera and each room came with outfits, food and instructions for how to have the best RPG experience. In the past, however, the rooms used to have actors that dressed up to match the setting of each of the rooms. The actors acted as the guests slaves during the duration of their stay.

"The actors." Takigawa replied simply, "They're haunting the rooms. You know a schoolteacher in the schoolhouse and stuff. The guests are being scared away."

Mai frowned, "Oh, are you sure?"

She was new to this, and in self-denial, but that didn't mean that she lacked intuition. If anything the thought of ten individual spirits each haunting their own room sounded a little far-fetched.

"Pretty sure, the owner said so herself," the Monk said, giving her a weird look and propping his hands behind his head as they headed back to base. Unfortunately Naru must have seen them headed his way because her Walkie Talkie beeped and then his voice receded from the device.

"_Mai, make yourself useful and get me some tea." _Naru ordered.

"Tea?" she asked incredulously, "Why tea?"

But he didn't reply and Mai knew that there wasn't a choice in the matter.

She waved goodbye to Takigawa and headed back in to the kitchen that the owners had shown them earlier. Currently it was around 5 0'clock and the owners had had to close down the hotel because of the state of things, so no one was around.

Entering the kitchen she spotted a teapot on the stove and filled it to boil. Begrudgingly she took out a cup and tea bag, some sugar as well, and put everything out on the counter.

She did notice that the toaster in the far corner was on and someone had put bread inside to toast.

Not having the energy to inspect farther she fell against a chair by the kitchen table and pulled out her cell-phone.

She had Gene's number and she texted him, punching each key with malice.

Mai: **Y am I making your brother tea?**

Several minutes later she got her response.

Gene: **He likes tea. **

Mai: **What am I? A maid?**

Gene: **-sigh- No, you're his assistant.**

Mai: **That's even worse. I don't remember **_**asking **_**for this.**

Suddenly the double doors to the kitchen burst open and Yasuhara stood in the doorway, slightly out of breath.

"What's that smell?" he demanded.

"Servitude." Mai dead-panned.

"No, I think the toast is burning."

* * *

"It's getting late." Naru observed, placing his third cup of tea on the desk in front of him. Mai stood by the doorway, half-hidden behind Takigawa as she tried to control her impatience. She was really sick of getting tea and then sitting beside Naru in base as he stared at an unmoving screen for hours on end. She was on her last nerve. "Everyone should pack in for the night. We're going to be staying across the parking lot in the managers summer home. Once there the girls will stay in the bedrooms upstairs and the men will stay downstairs. Its an old house so there won't be much room. Only take what you need. Alright you all can leave."

Mai sighed, rubbing her forehead to drain the headache away, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped a little and turned to see someone she recognized. Hanako Haru, the medium from the meeting earlier.

She seemed scared.

"Hey, are you alright Hanako?" Mai asked in concern.

The girl nodded and cleared her throat, "I-uh, I wasn't sure if you knew."

Mai furrowed her eyebrows, "Knew what?"

"You are a psychic right? You should know. Can't you feel them?"

Mai tensed, feeling slightly creeped out by this girls blatant response. "Feel who?"

"The people who died here," Hanako said, twirling her shirt in her fingers, "They feel you. They actually...like you, better than the others. You should be careful."

Mai's eyes widened, "I'll be sure to look out for them Hanako. Why don't you go get some rest?"

After a second Hanako nodded and turned away, disappearing behind Lin's tall frame. She seemed to like Lin, she clung to his side and barely took notice of the fact that he was staring at her like she was a tarantula rather than an adorable little girl.

Mai only stood there, in the base, wondering what Hanako had meant by 'them.' Mai had been sure, to some extent, that not all of the actors were haunting the building. But there were more than one. Hanako had confirmed that.

Briefly Mai stood in the doorway of the base and waited until everyone was past her and in the hall. Only Naru was walking behind the rest of them, he seemed slower than the others, and even he turned the corner at the end of the hall.

Once she was alone Mai turned around slowly, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck rising in aspiration.

"Mai."

She screamed, throwing her hands behind her to protect herself.

"Mai. What are you doing?" she knew that voice. Opening her eyes she met Naru's glower with an unblinking stare.

"You're not an evil supernatural thing." she said in surprise.

"You're not very smart, are you?"

* * *

It had been a long eventful day. The longest, it seemed, that Mai had ever lived through. She'd been dragged to England. Forced in to a ghost hunting team. Made a slave to the most narcissistic teenager on the face of the planet _and _been told by a little girl that 'they' were after her.

Needless to say she was slightly exhausted.

"Long day?" Ayako asked as Mai collapsed on to the bed she had claimed earlier.

"You could say that." Mai smiled, practically melting in to the comforter. The entire bed was warm and cozy. She could just...fall......asleep........

* * *

_There you have it!! I hope you liked the light-heartedness of this chapter because it gets serious in the next one. But its still funny I swear(I hope)!_

_THANK YOU!! For all of your wonderful reviews!! You guys are amazing!! If you don't press the green button I'll kill off Gene (again!)!!_

_Just kidding, I think Naru would kill me if I killed off Gene -_-"_


	4. Dl

_A/N: Here's a late Christmas present for you, and if you don't celebrate Christmas then you owe me a cookie. Nah, I'm just kidding, anyway this chapter is a little shorter.. Not much funny in there, but cuteness galore! I hope you guys like it. In case you haven't realized it yet the chapters are named for each of the letters in Daydreams, hence, there will be 9 chapters. Five left to go!! I'm writing more now, and I'm happy to say that my downloading problem, the reason for long-awaited updates, has been solved!! No more waiting!! So RXR and I'll think about updating soon, Monday perhaps? :P_

_PS, because the chapter upload thingy won't let two chapters have the same same the chap has been named Dl, it is actually just D, sorry for the confusion!!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt, Santa didn't come through._

_

* * *

_

_Chapter 4: D is for Discovery_

"Naru? Or are you Gene?" Mai asked the boy who stood before her. He dressed like Naru but so far he was smiling like Gene. Naru didn't smile like that, but he should.

"Okay, I'm guessing you're Gene. Why are you so quiet?" the boy only smiled. He gestured to the empty space they were standing in.

Mai was almost positive that she had been sinking in to her comforter only moments ago. Instead she didn't feel the slightest bit tired. She was standing beside Gene in this empty black space, which was when she realized that the space suddenly wasn't so dark or empty.

"Gene, when did we get to Adventure Suites?" Mai asked, but once again he only smiled. "Are you giving me the cold shoulder or something? Because, you know, if you're mad at someone you're not supposed to smile at them."

Gene took her hand and led her through the front doors.

It was different, Mai noticed immediately. The colors were off, like nothing was as bright and as colorful as it had been before she'd left that night. Instead the walls of the entrance were gray and drab. The floors were a thick, worn carpet and the windows were smudged as if someone had rubbed their fingers all over them.

"What happened?" Mai asked bewilderedly. "This is so weird. Gene you picked a really bad time to go mute."

Gene only smiled, of course, and led her through the lobby. They passed the base and headed for the kitchen. Mai would have liked to think that she knew the place well after making Naru three cups of tea in the few hours they had spent there.

But she didn't. The fridge was on the wrong side of the room. The microwave was nonexistent. Even the toaster, which Mai remembered well after Yasuhara had had an all out duel with it earlier, was gone, replaced by a strange device that looked like a mini oven.

"Um, Gene, what is..."

"Daddy!"

Mai spun around. Gene was gone. She was alone and there was a girl on the other end of the kitchen that didn't seem to notice her at all.

Lumbering in to the doorway came a tall, heavy man. He stood over the girl who was trembling in fear.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Mai yelled, too scared to run forward. It didn't matter. Neither of them noticed her at all.

"Why Kimiko?" the man asked, taking her by the shoulders. "This was our dream! This is our legacy! The Kura family!"

The girl seemed upset, she cried as he held her, which only made him angrier.

"Why Kimiko! Don't leave me here alone!" he yelled furiously, slapping her in the face. She reeled from the blow. Holding her cheek in her hands.

"Kim-i-ko..." he said, suddenly clutching his chest. The girl ran to him, crying. Ignoring her own swollen cheek.

"Daddy? Daddy are you okay?" she asks nervously. He didn't respond so she sat there shaking him, crying his name.

Mai watched the scene in shock as she realized that not only couldn't they hear her or see her but she wasn't really there to begin with. This had already happened. This was Adventure Suites in the past.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned expecting to see Gene smiling. Instead she saw the what seemed to still be Gene but in place of a smile was a scowl on a normally handsome face.

"Naru," she smiled. "What took you so long?"

*******

Mai woke up with a bright light in her eyes and the smell of hot chocolate in her nose. She smiled and flipped over in her sleep.

"Oh no you don't, its time to wake up." a grumpy voice proclaimed, lifting the covers from Mai's cold body.

"Madoka!" Mai shrieked, jumping from the freezing bed. "I only just fell asleep! Why'd you wake me up!"

Madoka looked less than amused she sighed and gave a little smile before heading for the doorway. "You're suffering from jet lag Mai, here in England its around noon and a certain grouchy scientist has been slamming things around all morning because he can't make himself tea."

Mai blinked and then giggled. "Naru can't make tea? Then how does he make it at home?"

"His mother makes it for him," Madoka smiled. "Now get dressed, I can't cover for you with Noll any longer."

Closing the door behind her Madoka left Mai standing frigid in the room. She shivered and looked towards the windows. It was really cold. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweater of Ayako's that was lying on the floor, since she hadn't brought any herself. The sweater managed to fit her loosely seeing as Ayako wore hers tight.

As she made her way out of the bathroom which connected the bedrooms on the second floor Mai found herself giggling over Naru's lack of tea making skills. He could be such a dunce sometimes, even though he was supposed to be a genius. She couldn't get him out of her head. She turned to a mirror, her cheeks blushed. Then she stopped, stared and sucked in her breath.

"Oh my gosh." Mai said softly, staring at her flushed complexion. "I can't be...but I-"

Mai fell on to her bed in shock. She felt like drowning in her covers and never coming out. She couldn't believe it. Her face felt very hot, and she slapped her cheeks with her hands.

'When did she start having a crush on Naru? She hadn't even known him for very long! This wasn't possible!'

But it was, and as Mai lay thinking about Naru, his scent, his touch…She realized that she did in fact have a crush on him. A crush. A crush. A crush.

She clutched her head in frustration and shrieked as Masako opened the bedroom door and stuck her head in.

"Lunch is ready."

*******

"So Masako....We haven't really talked yet....Are you enjoying yourself?" Mai asked awkwardly as the two girls walked to the hotel together.

This was her first time talking with Masako and she felt in particularly uncomfortable. Most likely because she was wearing Ayako's old sweater and Masako was wearing a luxurious kimono, the sleeves of which covered her hands and made her appear more fragile than she should have been.

"Yes," Masako said, "I am enjoying myself."

"You're a medium right? Have you sensed anything yet? Can you feel any spirits?" Mai asked curiously. She knew that Hanako had felt the spirits but it was another case altogether if Masako felt them too.

"I haven't felt anything significant, there may well be two spirits in this place but its as if they're avoiding me." Mai nodded at this, remembering what Hanako had said. The spirits liked her, not Masako. They would be more attune to Mai.

"How about you?" Masako asked condescendingly, "Have _you _sensed anything yet?"

The medium was belittling her, she knew that Mai hadn't sensed anything at all.

Mai thought for a moment, back to last night. The dream seemed all too coincidental, now that she remembered it. She had been so busy thinking about Naru, tea and Masako's condescension to spare much thought to the implications of her dream.

And Gene and Naru….she had _dreamed _about Gene and Naru. She raised her hands and slapped her reddening cheeks before Masako could witness the action. As if Masako could suddenly sense love interests as well as ghosts.

"Well? Have you?" the medium asked in annoyance as the girls crossed the parking lot to the hotel. The sun was out and shining, it was a beautiful day.

Mai opened her mouth, words seconds from her lips before headlights blinded her. It was day so headlights shouldn't have been on. Mai's eyes widened, her reflexes taking over.

"Masako! Watch out!" she cried, pushing the small girl out of the way.

There was a squeal of tires, a crash and a sickening thump; and that was all that was needed to summon a certain narcissist from the depths of his paperwork.

* * *

_Okay, I didn't kill Mai, and don't worry this won't be one of those...Mai got hurt and I realized I love her (Naru POV) type of deals. In fact, it will be a big surprise. Read between the lines, people!! _

_In case you haven't heard: Reviews make Authors happy campers. So Review!! Please!! Even if its just to say: This story is terrible. Though I would appreciate a little subtlety. Thank you. _

_Merci beaucoup._


	5. R

A/N: Ah, an update. You guys are so lucky, I have noooo free time anymore but I manage to squeeze some Daydreams in. and some nice one-shots too. I hope you guys check those out too! They will be out soon. Hope you like this chapter. Its a bit short but some things are made more confusing! BTW, I live to make things confuse and frustrate you!! Another cliffie!!

Disclaimer: If I owned Ghost Hunt...well, we would all be in trouble wouldn't we?

* * *

Chapter 5: R is for Revulsion

Masako was sprawled across the parking lot, her kimono torn in several places, and a thin stream of blood making its way down her pretty face from a cut near her eyebrow. She looked up, wincing in pain, the gravel under her hands and feet dug in to her skin. She pushed herself to her knees.

"M-Mai?" she called wearily, blinking her eyes to correct her foggy vision.

She saw a stilled car, a trail of blood, and no sign of the small, fiery girl who had been standing beside her moments ago.

"Mai!"

A door to the hotel crashed open and SPR ran out, Naru in the lead, his normally placid face knit in worry. Masako did not know what was stranger, Mai's disappearance or Naru's display of emotion.

Hanako clung to Lin's shirttail, her eyes wider than her small face should allow.

"Why is she here?" the girl said wearily, "She shouldn't be here."

Lin looked down at Hanako in confusion and placed a hand on her head, almost like he was patting her, then he moved to Naru's side.

"What happened?" Ayako demanded as she ran from the hotel, "Oh my gosh, Masako are you okay?"

It was only then that the others seemed to notice Masako, shaking and hurt on the other side of the car. They rushed to her, surrounding her with questions and confusion. She held her head and when she took her hand away it was covered in blood.

"Move away, people, she's hurt," Ayako announced, she commandeered her way through the crowd of people and ordered Takigawa to carry the girl inside.

"Ms. Hara," Naru asked, in a raspy voice, "Do you know what happened to Mai? Where is she?"

His voice, however soft, rang in her ears. She tried to remember but it was hard. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to sense Mai's spiritual energy.

"She's, um, I know she p-pushed me out of the way. Please, I can't remember," Masako said pleadingly. Naru nodded and walked away from Takigawa, who carried the girl inside.

"Everyone, split up and look for Mai, she has to be-"

"Hello? Can someone help us?" a voice asked, Naru spun around and the rest of SPR followed suit. "Under here."

Lin knelt down, Hanako hovering behind him, his eyes seemed to widen and he sucked in a breath, "Naru, I found them."

*******

Mai looked up and all she could see was black. She looked down and she could feel her arms, legs and torso, but those were black as well. She couldn't see anything.

"Am I….Have gone blind?" she wondered aloud, scanning the empty area, "Well, if I have gone blind, at least I won't have to pass in my English essay."

She sat for a moment, trying to come up with good things about being blind, Naru couldn't force her to make tea, or set up the cameras, or check the microphones, or take the temperatures….

"Why are all the good things about being blind revolving around Naru?" she asked herself. Her voice, no matter how soft, comforted her in the darkness.

"Hello?" she called curiously, but there was no voice in return. "Hello-"

"Mai, stop fooling around and pay attention," it was Naru's voice.

She spun around, but still there was darkness, "Naru? Is that you? Where are you? I can't see-"

Someone's hands, small and soft and cold, slapped across her eyes. She knew that in normal conditions she wouldn't be able to see, but there wasn't a difference between the darkness and this person's hands.

"Naru?" she spoke softly, hoping it was him.

"Mai," Naru whispered in her ear, "Pay close attention to your surroundings, SPR needs your help, you're the only one who can solve this case."

Mai held her eyes open wide, startled, "I am?"

She hoped that Naru couldn't feel her cheeks heating up.

"Yes, now watch."

The hands were removed from her face, but as they were Mai blinked against the harsh light that now penetrated her vision.

She was standing in Adventure Suites lobby, and Monk was a few feet in front of her in a gorilla costume.

*******

"What happened?" Naru asked, watching as Lin placed Mai, unconscious, on the couch in the base.

Eric walked behind him, rubbing his sore head. Someone handed him an icepack and he turned to Ayako with gratitude. "Thanks," he mumbled, wincing as he set it on the lump that was forming by his temple.

"Mr. Jilson," Naru prompted, "What happened in the parking lot?"

Eric looked at him for a moment, gathering his thoughts. He sat down, feeling dizzy and then said, "I s-saw Mai coming out of the summer home, across the street and I…wanted to say hi. I think. Then this car came out of nowhere and Mai pushed Masako aside. I grabbed Mai and blocked her when the car hit and we fell and it ran over us."

"The car?" Naru confirmed, "Was there a driver?"

Eric shook his head diligently, then he squeezed his ice pack closer to his head as the pain throbbed harder than ever.

Ayako walked over to him and held the ice pack away for a moment. She spoke to her boss, "Masako's resting in the Rainforest Suite and he has a concussion, Naru," then to Eric, "You shouldn't sleep for awhile, just so we can keep an eye on you."

Eric didn't nod or smile or respond, he looked up and followed Ayako from the room, his only glance behind him was to the small girl, crumpled under a blanket on the couch.

Naru glanced at her as well.

'I'll have to ask her…what's going on.' he thought. 'For some reason I get the feeling she knows more than she is letting on.'

Strangely Naru felt the need to wrap his arms around her and sit by her and brush her hair out of her face. He needed to feel that she was okay. He...shook his head and placed it in his hands.

'I must have bumped my head too.'

*******

"Takigawa! Take that thing off! You don't know where it has been!" Ayako demanded as she led a green faced Eric from the base.

Takigawa turned to her, prepared to fight her on the matter but she smacked him with a pointy-nailed hand and that was that.

"But I was trying to draw out the ghosts!" Takigawa yelled, Ayako smacked him again and he began to step out of the gorilla costume.

Mai watched this and all she could see was the shadowy outlines of her friends and their broken voices. It was almost like she was watching black and white TV, even their voices were laced with static.

In this world they were the ghosts and Mai, who couldn't even see her hands in front of her, was invisible.

"Father! Stop it, don't touch him!" a girls voice cried.

Mai looked up and saw the girl from before and her father, his beefy arms reaching for Takigawa. For some reason those two were solid and their voices perfectly clear.

"Takigawa! Watch out!" Mai cried, rushing forward only to fall straight through the man she was trying to attack. Not only was she invisible, but tangible as well.

Gene walked in to the hallway, he wasn't her dream Gene, this time he was fading and his voice unclear. This was the real Gene.

"Ugly suit, huh, Takigawa?" he asked jokingly.

"Yeah man, ugly as hell, get it off me! It smells too!"

They laughed and the girl's father roared.

"My home! My legacy! They mock me and my work! They mock everything I stand for! Kimiko," he said, turning to his daughter, "don't you see? They make fun of what we have lived so long to accomplish….our paradise. Our land of fairytales!"

Mai watched in confusion. None of it made sense.

The girl, Kimiko, shook her head and she began to cry. Pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes. "No father. This isn't right. Killing yourself to further your 'legacy', this is not r-right."

Infuriated the man shouted and lunged for Takigawa's neck.

Mai was confused but she understood one thing perfectly. She needed to save Takigawa.

"No, stop it!" Mai screeched, finally she broke through her invisibility and in a brilliant flash of light she stumbled towards the man and grabbed his arms. "That's my friend, please don't hurt him."

The man's eyes softened and Kimiko looked up sharply, "Y-You," she said, "It worked. It really worked.

*******

"This suit-won't come off!" Takigawa exclaimed, Gene pulled on a sleeve and Ayako on another, but it was stuck and the Monk sighed in hopelessness. "No use, huh?"

Gene watched the Monk in amusement and, for just a moment, things seemed peaceful once again.

"No, stop it!" Mai's voice pierced the air and Takigawa's head whipped around.

"Mai?" he wondered aloud, he turned to the others just as Lin and Naru ran from the base, "Did you guys hear that? What's going on?"

Gene and Naru looked at each other.

"Mai's doing all of the work."

* * *

Thank you for your wonderful reviews!! reviews=inspiration=updates

Anyway, I am really excited and hoping to make 100+ reviews this time so please please please just press the green button. I would really appreciate it.

The next chapter gets pretty juicy but in two chapters, whoa, it gets very dramatic. I hope you're as excited as I am! Happy New Years!

Au revoir!!


	6. E

A/N: I wasn't planning on updating today. I was planning on finishing my ten-page report on Emily Dickinson. Unfortunately fanfiction owns my soul. You can also all say thank you to the few nice PMs and reviews that kicked my butt in to gear for this one. The editing isn't finished by the way. I will finish it and update it later.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! I would love it if you also checked out my other story _Somewhere in the Middle, _its in need of some love and you guys are the best!!

ALSO ALSO ALSO!! I now have a twitter! If people show interest and follow me on twitter I can twitter about updates and junk like that!! Twitter name= kiss_my_book.

Disclaimer: I would have owned Ghost Hunt but I decided to spend my money on manga instead. Then I realized I could have just read it on MangaFox.

* * *

Chapter 6: E is for Egad a Ghost!

"What do you mean it worked?" Mai asks suspiciously, pointing her finger at the shaking young girl, but as quickly as she had pointed the man she was holding swung out, trying to scrape her off his arm. She held on tighter.

Kimiko Kura stared at Mai through her wispy black bangs. She was a small, petit, young woman but her eyes revealed an air of age about her and Mai knew that she was older than she appeared to be.

"Father, please, calm down," Kimiko said slowly, as the large man Mai was clinging to reached further for Takigawa's throat.

Mai pulled on him harder, tears welling in her eyes, her arms burning.

After a minute that seemed to go on for hours the mans rage was quelled by his daughter's pleading voice. He began to breathe normally and he stepped away from Mai's teammates as everything around Mai, Kimiko and her father began to fall away to nothing.

'Nothing' that was like darkness and thick air. Mai was right back where she had started. She half expected to see a smiling Gene or a sneering Naru but neither came to her rescue. Instead she was left with Kimiko staring at her from the darkness.

Her father was gone. Vanished. They were alone.

"Where…Where are we? Where did your father go?" Mai asked warily. She wanted to step away from Kimiko but she knew that wouldn't do her any good.

Kimiko crossed her arms over her stomach, "He's gone. His rage has been stilled for now," then she looked up at Mai, "I am terribly sorry for dragging you in to my problems."

Mai shook her head, "But you haven't done anything. Its more Gene's fault than anyone's for dragging me in to this mess. You have been nothing but helpful, especially for someone of your…situation."

Mai hoped that she hadn't been stressing too heavily on the fact that Kimiko was dead. She did find it particularly ironic, however, that a single ghost had been more effective on this mission than a room full of mediums, psychics, ghost hunters, a monk, a miko and a priest.

The ghost, however, looked less than thrilled about this prospect.

Instead, she looked p at Mai with tear-filled eyes.

"I-I'm terribly sorry. I had to do something. Someone needed to stop my father, someone with strong psychic abilities. No one else would do and you hadn't even fully awakened to your abilities yet. I-I had to….to….," the girl's knees gave out as she landed in the darkness in a heap of tears. Mai was too startled to speak.

Confused and wary, Mai made her way over to the ghost and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry," she said, "Whatever you did, you did it to help us. I'm sure I can forgive you."

The ghost shook her head sharply, "I'm afraid not, you see I was the one that hit you with the car in the parking lot. You're having a forced out-of-body experience right now. You may never wake up."

*******

Luella Davis was sitting in her office in London, England. Her flat pin-stripe suit clung to her perfectly and the smile on her face was appropriately discreet. She clicked the mouse on her computer as she dragged a file from one end of the screen to the other.

Click. Slide. Click.

The office door opened and her husband entered, looking less than thrilled. He held two cups of tea in his hands and offered one to her.

"Thank you, dear," she said warmly, dropping the formalities, "Are you alright? You seem a bit shaken."

Martin Davis nodded feebly and collapsed in to a chair beside her desk. He was rubbing his forehead with his hand, a clear sign that he was nervous about something. Luella placed her tea down and reached over, taking Martin's hand in hers.

"Martin, what's bothering you? Is something wrong?" she asked, her work forgotten.

Anything could be bothering him. The boys. Madoka. Lin. Work. She prayed that nothing had happened to the former and rather wished it had something to do with the latter.

Instead, this is what Martin Davis conveyed to her: "That girl, Mai Taniyama, I found out why she seems so familiar. Madoka's been up to her tricks again."

Luella leaned back in her chair, surprised by her husband's news.

"What about Mai Taniyama?" she asked, tapping her nails on her desk.

Martin looked up to meet her eyes, "She is the daughter of Svetlana Reid and Tomoko Taniyama."

With this Luella sat back in her chair with an 'oomph'. There was no way in hell that this was coincidence. Unless it really was a small world after all…

*******

"You hit me with a car?" Mai repeated, stepping away from the girl, "I may never wake up?"

Kimiko nodded even though her head was in her hands. She didn't even look up to meet Mai's eyes. Shame and regret wafted through the darkness in thick waves.

Mai was torn between scratching this ghost's face off and collapsing in disbelief. She'd never felt so angry, so helpless and so terrified all at once. It was horrible.

There were only two people that Mai knew of that could help her now. Only two.

She stepped away from Kimiko and stood as tall as she could.

"Naru! Gene!" Mai screamed in to the darkness, "Oliver Davis! Please answer me! I need help!! Naru!!"

There was no answer. Her words didn't even seem that loud to her ears. They simple hung in midair, not echoing or ringing through the darkness like she had intended. She was scared.

*******

Takigawa was staring Naru down but the back-clad teen didn't seem to be caving in. instead he crossed his arms and stared right back at Takigawa's reddening face.

"Ah! Seriously Naru this is useless! Stop waiting and let us do an exorcism already. We could have this case in the bag!" Takigawa insisted, waving his arms out around him.

The others watched on in mild disinterest, many were in huddles around Mai's prone figure. Eric, against Ayako's wishes, was holding a wet cloth to her warm face. Masako, also against Ayako's wishes, was holding her hands against Mai's arm, trying to contact her spirit. And Ayako was standing behind them all, her hands defiantly on her hips and her face screwed in to a scowl.

"Hurry it up!" she snapped, "You both need to lie down. You were just hit with a freaking car less than three hours ago!"

Lin looked up from the monitors where he had been overseeing Yasuhara and John who were leading Haruka Haru, the medium, around as she searched for the spirits of the household. Everyone was catering to Mai.

"Naru if we exorcise the ghosts that live in this hotel then Mai will return to her body. Isn't that what you want?" Takigawa asked sharply.

Everyone looked up as Naru answered, "Of course it is Takigawa. However I am not willing to take the chance that Mai's spirit will be exorcised in the process. Also if a simple exorcism would do the trick then we would have been finished already wouldn't we? I suggest that you spend some more time fixing your strategy than yelling at your teammates."

"Nothing is permanent Takigawa, I can have you removed from this team," Naru conveyed darkly.

Takigawa held his lips together and they pressed in to a firm line. He sat down stiffly in a seat by the case report files and began to sift through information as quickly as possible. Satisfied, Naru also took a seat.

Ayako watched the transaction in amusement. It seemed to her that Takigawa had just been scolded by Naru-sensei.

She stifled a laugh.

The door came bursting inward.

Fortunately it wasn't a raging ghost bent on vengeance, but it was close.

Naru looked up.

It was his mother.

*******

Gene squinted at the newspaper being pressed against his face. His eyes were blurry with sleep and he couldn't see a damned thing in the dim light coming in through the dusty windows.

He would have decided upon this case being a lost cause hours ago if it had not been for Mai's predicament. Even so he was sitting in the town library with Madoka on his right, a pile of books on his left and no solid explanation between them.

He sighed softly and placed the newspaper back on the table. Hopeless.

"Aha!" Madoka gave a little cry, bouncing in her seat. Gene jerked in to wakefulness and leaned over her shoulder. She was holding a newspaper report from the seventies. The headline read: LOCAL FIRE KILLS TWO: POLICE SUSPECT ARSON--Under which there was a photo of the hotel and two smaller photos of a heavy man and a girl with wispy black bangs.

Gene's eyes widened, "That's her. She's the one the owners described. Kimiko Kura."

Madoka nodded and finished reading the article, after which she turned giddily to Gene and her smile widened (if possible).

"It says here that the girl, Kimiko, was an aspiring actress and her father wanted her to work at the RPG hotel. Her father had put everything he owned in to the hotel after his wife died and he was determined to keep it in the family," she plopped the newspaper down on the table, "He was dying from a stroke when the fire consumed the kitchen. Faulty wiring or something like that. Kimiko wouldn't leave without him so she died too. That entire part of the hotel had been redone, so it looks nothing like it did back then. The ghost of the father must be angry because his hotel is being run by outsiders and his daughter must be trying to warn people."

Gene lit up as well, a light bulb going off in his head, "So the actors that the guests reported in the rooms were all Kimiko and her father?"

Madoka nodded vigorously but then halted, her face squirming back in to frown, "But that man's ghost must be consumed with rage and betrayal, no simple exorcism will work on him. He needs to be fulfilled."

Gene nodded, he already had a plan.

*******

Mai stood for awhile after her failed attempts to contact Naru and Gene. There were so many thoughts running through her head that she felt it might explode.

Never wake up again? Mai might never open her eyes again. Ever. She'd never see the sun or make Naru tea or finish her mission? She was just starting t enjoy her new lifestyle too. Even if that lifestyle only consisted of three things: making tea, checking the cameras and taking down the temperature.

Kimiko was crying.

Mai reached forward and touched the girl's shoulder.

She smiled at Kimiko, whose face was confused.

"Why aren't you angry? Don't you want to kill me?" Kimiko asked with a hiccup.

"Don't worry, you're already dead. Besides, Naru will find me. I haven't known him for too long but he seems fairly reliable with these kinds of things. I trust him," Mai said assuredly, "I trust him with my life."

*******

"Mother?"

"Where's Madoka?" Luella questioned her son, her rage was palpable even in the fluorescent lighting, her hair whipped around her head as she scanned the room, "You can't hide her from me Oliver Davis."

Naru blinked and stepped forward, "I'm not trying to. She's not here. She's at the library with Gene."

Everyone else in the room seemed at a loss for words. Except for Mai who was currently indisposed. The last time they had seen Luella Davis she had been a formal, demure businesswoman. Now she just seemed plain crazy.

"I'll find her Oliver Davis," Luella shouted, "Even if I have to burn this whole place to the ground!"

Just then, for a moment, Naru could have sworn that time stood still. After, a bone-chilling roar rose from the very hinges of the hotel and shook the room. Everyone was silent as they fumbled for something to hold on to.

The roar echoed, and the silence that followed frightened even Naru half to death.

* * *

BTW, you aren't supposed to know who Mai's parents are. It will all be revealed!!

So going back to the A/N: check out _Somewhere in the Middle _and Twitter!!

Au Revoir mes amis!


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